Tag Archives: scholarships

I am proud to report that our deepening ties with Mexico continue to result in additional support for our students. Yesterday Mexico’s ambassador to the United States presented the College with an $80,000 award to fund scholarships for immigrants and Americans of Mexican origin.

The funds were presented by Ambassador Carlos Manuel Sada Solana during a brief ceremony at the Mexican Consulate in Tucson. It was an honor to meet the ambassador, and the College is grateful he made time in a busy schedule for PCC.

Kudos to Dr. Ricardo Castro-Salazar, Vice President for International Development, and his team at the Center for International Education and Global Engagement for making the meeting happen.

The support for PCC comes from the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME), which is part of Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Relations. This is the third grant PCC has received from IME since November 2014, bringing the total for scholarships to $260,000. As Ambassador Sada stated while praising community colleges for preparing students for transfer or employment, “There is no greater legacy than education.”

November has been particularly fruitful for the College’s multifaceted relationship with Mexico. On Nov. 19, a group of 25 college students from Mexico graduated from a four-week PCC program featuring English as a Second Language instruction and cultural enrichment. It was the fourth group we have hosted in the past two years as part of the Proyecta 100,000 program of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations.

As Vice President of Instruction and Transfer Pathways Dr. Gregg Busch told the graduates, learning a foreign language is essential to building relationships and opens a window to new cultures. The College is committed to enhancing bi-national connections that benefit our diverse region.

Our PCC Foundation annually hosts a Scholarship Fiesta where scholarship recipients and donors can get to know each other. I shared a few remarks at last week’s gathering, and had the opportunity to meet the extraordinary people who support the Foundation, and the students who benefit from their generosity.

This year’s awardees included Craig Bevan. At 60, Craig is a lifelong learner earning his second degree at PCC, in Paralegal Studies, and sixth overall. Craig is dealing with physical challenges but says they will never keep him from learning.

The student speaker, Itzel Ramos, intends to study Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona after graduating from PCC in May. Her career goal is to help design prosthetics for those who have lost limbs. She shared with me that she also is in ROTC, and intends to join the Air Force.

Itzel shared that her mother has worked the graveyard shift at her job in order to help put Iztel and a sister through college. The fiesta’s master of ceremonies, local entrepreneur Edmund Marquez, put it best when he told Iztel’s mom that she had raised a heckuva daughter.

Though coming from diverse backgrounds, Craig, Itzel and our scholarship recipients are alike in many ways. They are often the first in their family to attend college. They come from close-knit, multigenerational families of modest means. Some have experienced food or housing insecurity. They want to attend school close to home. They need PCC’s flexible schedules to balance work, school and family. Most importantly, they understand that attending college is the pathway to a better life for themselves and their families.

As usual, the Foundation staged a beautiful event in the Community Campus courtyard, with delicious food and mariachi music in a pleasant and friendly setting. Kudos to Foundation Board member Staci Lopez, Interim Foundation Executive Director Rachel Schaming and her team, and to Special Assistant, External Relations Christy Camargo and Support Specialist Chris Mayer.